The present invention relates to the field of data tag devices, and more particularly to data tag devices which may be operated in an active or semi-active mode and which are used to store time-sensitive data.
Data tag devices are in widespread use and are used to associate information with a particular item, object, or person. A data tag may be passive device which can only respond to queries from tag readers, and which receives power to provide the response from the query signal itself. Alternatively a data tag may be an active device, having its own power source allowing it occasionally broadcast an unsolicited beacon signal. There is also a semi-active mode of operation where the data has a power source to allow it to respond to queries with a stronger signal, allowing a greater distance between a reader and the data tag device. Semi-active data tags otherwise operate as passive data tags, and do not transmit unsolicited beacons.
Tags are used in a variety of industries including retail, transportation, medical/healthcare, and security, to name several. They are configured, accordingly, in a variety of form factors, as dictated by the particular application. Tags can be manufactured at such a low cost that they can be considered disposable in many applications. However, once a given tag's purpose has been fulfilled, it will persist, storing its data in a retrievable format indefinitely. Even active and semi-active tags may remain viable for years after being initially deployed because these tags use very little power.
The persistence of tag data, and the pervasiveness of tag usage have given rise to privacy concerns. Tags are typically concealed in packing materials, containers, products, and even integrated into these items, often without consumer knowledge. When these items are disposed of, the information in the tags may be obtained by third parties. This is particularly true of active tag devices since their beacons signal may be received without any ready query or solicitation. Similarly, semi-active tags can be read from a great distance than a passive tag, so their use is also of particular concern. Information relating to purchases, medicine, identity, even finances could potentially be obtained from tag devices. It is anticipated that tag usage will increase, resulting in an increase of the potential for unintended third parties to acquire tag data.
To ease concerns, some retailers will disable tags on items purchased at the point of sale. However, only those tags which can be disabled, and which are known to be present on a given product can be deactivated. However, deactivating tags at retail points of sale can obviously only affect tags used in retail practices. Disabling these tags adds an additional process at the point of sale, which is typically undesirable since it adds a cost in both equipment and time necessary to deactivate each tag. Furthermore, completely deactivating a tag at a point of sale may be undesirable for other reasons, such as warranty and return tracking, for example.
Another means for deactivating tags is for the consumer to use a so-called RFID zapper, which attempts to overload the circuits of the tag and destroy it as a result. A consumer may also simply destroy a tag to dispose of it. Of course, these methods assume the consumer both knows of the existence of the tag, and that the tag can reasonably be removed from the item with which it is associated.
Therefore there exists a need for a way to disable data tags to reduce the possibility that the tag information will be acquired by third parties.